Page 1763 - Week 05 - Thursday, 10 May 2018
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MR RAMSAY (Ginninderra—Attorney-General, Minister for Regulatory Services, Minister for the Arts and Community Events and Minister for Veterans and Seniors) (11.09): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
I am pleased to introduce the Casino and Other Gaming Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 today. When I introduced the Casino (Electronic Gaming) Bill 2017 I foreshadowed that more legislative and regulatory changes were underway. This government committed to keep working on stronger harm minimisation measures and to ensure a neutral, transparent process for making decisions about redevelopment at the casino.
Today’s bill delivers on that commitment by creating an unprecedented level of transparency in decisions about the casino. These amendments will establish casino advisory panels. These will be constituted by people independent of government. They will make a recommendation to me, as the minister responsible for racing and gaming policy, about certain decisions under the Casino Control Act 2006 and the Casino (Electronic Gaming) Act 2017.
The decisions on which a panel will provide a recommendation include decisions about the ownership and leasing of the casino and the grant or transfer of the casino licence. In addition a panel will provide a recommendation about a decision to allow the operation of casino gaming machines or fully automated table game terminals—FATGs.
As members would be aware, the government, through the Chief Minister’s directorate, is currently considering an unsolicited proposal by Aquis Entertainment to redevelop Casino Canberra. There is substantial community interest in the decision to allow electronic gaming machines at the casino, including in the context of the unsolicited proposal. It is important to ensure that these changes occur only in connection with the redevelopment of the casino precinct, and in a way that provides clear benefits for the broader Canberra community.
The Casino (Electronic Gaming) Act 2017 establishes the legislative framework, including specific harm minimisation measures, for an increased electronic gaming offering in any proposal for casino redevelopment, whether as part of the existing proposal or a future one. Electronic gaming products include gaming machines and FATGs.
The government has been firm in its position that the casino will only be able to operate gaming machines once it has delivered the economic and social benefits of a significant casino redevelopment. The casino must acquire authorisations from existing clubs and hotels, and these are restricted authorisations until they are converted. A restricted authorisation cannot be used to operate a casino gaming machine or a casino FATG terminal. To ensure the public benefit associated with the redevelopment is realised, a casino advisory panel will consider the casino licensee’s compliance with any agreement with the territory about the redevelopment of the
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